UCLA
Bob Larsen Distance Carnival
UCLA Track & Field Hosts Home Opener This Weekend
March 29, 2018 | Track & Field
Bob Larsen Distance Carnival & Jim Bush Legends Invitational
March 30 & 31, 2018
MEET INFORMATION
Location: Los Angeles, Calif.
Venue: Drake Stadium
Tickets: $8 adults/$5 youth
Live Results: finishedresults.com
MEET SCHEDULE
Friday, Mar. 30
4 pm - Hammer
4:50 pm - Distance Carnival
Saturday, Mar. 31
10:30 am - Field events begin
2 pm - Track events begin
UCLA HOSTS HOME OPENER
UCLA will compete at home for the first time in 2018 this weekend when it hosts the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival on Friday, Mar. 30 and the Jim Bush Legends Invitational on Saturday, Mar. 31. The distance carnival begins on Friday at 4:50 pm with the men's mile. The women's hammer will be contested on Friday at 4pm to kick off the Jim Bush Legends Invitational, which kicks off in earnest on Saturday, Mar. 31, with field events beginning at 10:30 am and track events starting at 2 pm. Live results will be available at finishedresults.com.
PARTICIPATING TEAMS
Bob Larsen Distance Carnival: Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Los Angeles, Cal State San Marcos, Cornell, CSU Bakersfield (w), El Camino College (m), Loyola Marymount, Minnesota (m), Pepperdine, Pomona-Pitzer (m), Riverside City College, Cal State San Bernardino, San Diego State (w), Tulane, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, UCLA.
Jim Bush Legends Invitational: Cal State Los Angeles, Cerritos College, Colorado (m), Diablo Valley College (m), El Camino College, Minnesota (m), Riverside City College (m), Cal State San Bernardino, San Diego State (w), Tulane (w), UC Santa Barbara, UCLA, Washington State.
MEET PREVIEW
The Bruins will have a robust squad at the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival on Friday, with seven women competing in the 1500m, five in the 5000m and three in the 10,000m. Additionally, UCLA 3000m steeplechase record-holder Emily Scharmann will make her season debut in that event. On the men's side, nine Bruins will race the one mile, three will race the 10,000m, Cole Smith will represent in the 3000m steeple, and two will participate in the 5000m, including Daniel De La Torre, who holds the No. 5 mark in school history (13:46.14). Athletes to watch at the Jim Bush Legends Invitational include indoor All-Americans Ashlie Blake, Alyssa Wilson and Dotun Ogundeji in the throws, 2017 outdoor All-Americans Simon Litzell and Marian Spannowsky in the javelin, Pan Am Juniors medalist Mikella Lefebvre-Oatis in the high jump, and MPSF indoor pentathlon champion Kendall Gustafson, who is competing in the 100m, 200m, 100m hurdles, long jump and shot put.
TWO COACHING LEGENDS HONORED
The two meets this weekend are named in honor of UCLA Hall of Fame coaches Bob Larsen and the late Jim Bush. Larsen, who was inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame in October, led the UCLA men's track and field teams to two NCAA Championships, nine Pac-12 titles and four national dual meet titles during his nearly 20 years as head coach. He had an incredible dual meet record of 118-3-1 that included an unbeaten 15-year dual mark versus rival USC. In cross country, he led UCLA to two conference crowns and six NCAA appearances. The four-time NCAA Coach of the Year guided 13 athletes to a total of 25 national championships and was inducted into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2013. Larsen's star runner Meb Keflezighi, also a UCLA Athletic Hall of Famer, became the first marathon runner in history win an Olympic medal and the Boston and New York City Marathons.
Bush, who passed away at the age of 90 in July, coached at UCLA for 20 years (1965-84) and elevated the program to one of the most outstanding in the United States, winning five NCAA titles (1966, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1978) and seven conference titles (1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1980, 1982). Bush was the first coach to earn Coach of the Year honors twice by the U.S. Track Coaches Association (1971, 1973), and he finished his UCLA career with a 152-21 record in outdoor dual meets, including 10 unbeaten dual seasons and dual meet winning streaks of 17, 20, 42 and 34. He was inducted into the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame in 1987, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1996 and the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997.
BRUINS CAPTURE FOUR EVENT WINS AT AZTEC INVITATIONAL
UCLA kicked off the outdoor season with four event wins and 16 Top 5 finishes at the Aztec Invitational. Senior Kendall Gustafson won the heptathlon with 5,691 points, the No. 7 mark in school history and No. 2 mark in the NCAA this year. Junior Justin Stafford won the hammer with a mark of 60.80m (199-05). Junior CJ Alumbres had a big day at the triple jump pit, taking home the event victory with a leap of 15.40m (50-06.25), a Top 10 mark in the NCAA this year, and sophomore Mikella Lefebvre-Oatis tied for first in the high jump with a clearance of 1.71 (5-7.25).
ANDERSON BEGINS FIRST SEASON
UCLA graduate and track and field/football alumnus Avery Anderson is in his first year as the Director of Track & Field and Cross Country, having assumed the position on July 6, 2017. Anderson returned to his alma mater after spending nearly 13 years in various coaching roles at CSUN, including the Director of Track & Field and Cross Country from July 2011-July 2017. Prior to coaching at CSUN, Anderson was a volunteer assistant track coach at Kansas State from 2002-04 and at UCLA from 2001-02. During his tenure at CSUN, Anderson led Matador student-athletes to 13 team conference championship titles, 91 individual conference championship titles and 21 NCAA All-America honors. He established a conference record for team championship titles, was named the Big West Conference Women's Track & Field Coach of the Year in 2017 and 2015, and coached the only individual male NCAA Division I champions in CSUN history, in any sport, long jumpers Dashalle Andrews and Reindell Cole.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Bruins will compete at the Jim Click Multis on Apr. 5-6 in Tucson.
Players Mentioned
